Bandai Figuarts ZERO: Dragon Ball Z Majin Buu Kid figure
CHARACTER AND TOY LINE DETAILS
Goku and his friends had it coming when fighting against Cell who, apparently, had to go through a few evolutions before revealing his full power. However, that saga wasn’t longest in the anime Dragon Ball Z. Before the anime series ended, they still had to face another evil and it took them 97 episodes to finally finish.
Upon absorbing a couple of gods and unleashing evil, Majin Buu later in the saga had attained his final and original transformation, Kid Buu. The creature has been said to be in love with causing chaos and destruction which holds him as the most iconic Majin Buu transformation.
Nevertheless, Bandai was generous enough to release the Figuarts ZERO: Majin Buu Kid figure back in 2016 even though the anime ended back in 1996. It was also meant to recognize the 20th anniversary of the show’s ending — simply because Dragon Ball Z is for life!
The anime figure gathered a lot of attention since it was only sold for a limited time and was exclusive to Tamashii Webshop. And since it’s another popular figure, the figure pirates also had their eyes on this item to counterfeit.
ORIGIN OF FAKE
Bought on: AliExpress
Origin: China
Vendor: DoleToy Store
Distribution Area: Worldwide
For figures that are sold for a limited time, there could possibly no way to get the figure now in 2019. Apparently, there are collectors who are willing to sell their authentic figures since the price already went up for the item. Bootlegs though can cause confusion within ecommerce websites like AliExpress.
Since the fakes from the website can be distributed worldwide, there are shady people who will take advantage of the scarcity of the item and will sell these bootlegs, even worse, they could also disguise the item as an authentic.
You have to save yourself from being tricked by these lying scalawags, and you can do that by simply researching. Take some notes on this fake Kid Buu figure.
DESCRIPTION OF FAKE
The fake Figuarts ZERO: Majin Buu Kid figure, surprisingly, has a box of its own. When we got this in the mail though, the box was laid flat and we’re guessing that it was done to fit the courier’s packaging. As a result, you can see that the box and the plastic casing are crumpled in some areas.
The fake Majin Buu Kid figure in its box - front
The fake Majin Buu Kid figure in its box - left
The fake Majin Buu Kid figure in its box - right
The fake Majin Buu Kid figure in its box - back
Close up of the front portion of the box
Close up of the front portion of the box
Close up of the back portion of the box
Close up of the back portion of the box
Top portion of the fake figure's box
Bottom portion of the fake figure's box
Looking at the box’s print, you’ll notice that the images are in a relatively lower resolution. There are some blurs on the texts as well.
The Figuarts ZERO collection is created by Bandai, and the box of this fake missed out on the appropriate logos. There should be a Bandai logo, Figuarts ZERO logo, Dragon Ball Z logo, and a Tamashii Nations logo to ensure that the figure is an authentic. Also, figures licensed by Toei Animation will have its seal or sticker on the box. You should need to make sure that the packaging is properly sealed after taking note of these points.
The real Figuarts ZERO Majin Buu Kid figure's box
Notable logos on the authentic's box
Fake VS Real of both boxes
If you put the bootleg’s box beside a real Kid Buu’s box, you can see a whole lot of difference between the two.
The fake Kid Buu figure in plastic casing
The fake Kid Buu figure in plastic casing
The fake Figuarts ZERO Majin Buu Kid figure - front
The fake Figuarts ZERO Majin Buu Kid figure - facing right
The fake Figuarts ZERO Majin Buu Kid figure - facing left
The fake Figuarts ZERO Majin Buu Kid figure - back
How the bootleg stands on its base
The base mismatching the fake's sockets
The fake Kid Buu figure is enclosed in a slightly crumpled plastic casing. It has the base and the figure itself. Aside from the figure being separated from the base, there’s no sign of other parts being a detachable.
It’s important that we discuss how well a figure stands on its base. As for this fake, it cannot be fully attached to its base since the figure’s sockets don’t match. So for remedy’s sake, we’ve only stuck the figure using only one of the three bits — luckily, the figure stood properly for the images.
Close up on the fake figure's face
Focusing on the details of the bootleg's mouth
A view of the right side of its head
A view of the left side of its head
Focusing on the fake figure's left ear
Focusing on the fake figure's right ear
With a glance, you can see that the face is far from the character itself. You have to notice that the eyes are lacking in details. The mouth also looks shady enough to be counted as a flaw of this bootleg.
The ears, on the other hand, have sketchy black paint on them. What’s suspicious about this area is that the paint job hardly covers the whole area and you can see some unrefined edges on the black painted area.
There are also some inconsistencies with the paint job on the whole figure. You can observe this from the left eye area where the pink paint slightly fades. While that isn’t counted as a defect yet, you’ll realize that the faded paint on the body is a total mess.
Close up on the fake figure's body
Close up on the fake figure's back
The figure's left hand and bracers
The figure's left hand and bracers
The fake figure's right hand and bracers
Blue stain on the fake figure's right arm
With a view of the bootleg’s body, you can see a whole lot of faded areas. Possibly, the authentic might have some of the same shade, however, this seems a bit odd considering the character wouldn’t have that much ‘glow effect’ in the anime.
The hands look awful as well. The left hand just lacks in details as the figure clench its fist, while on the right arm, you’ll see a line of blue paint which is completely unrelated to the figure’s paint job — stain alert!
A closer overview of the fake figure's feet
The fake figure's right leg
The fake figure's left leg
Close up on the fake figure's feet
Another angle of the fake figure's feet
The lower body of the fake isn’t any different from the rest of the parts. Starting from the right leg, there’s a terrible scratch, and it looks like the figure was pounded on the ground. Although hardly noticeable, there are also some white paint stains in the same area as well.
Looking at the feet, there are also a few scratches on the paint job which is already unacceptable if it’s an authentic we’re talking about.
The upper part of the ornament aura
The lower part of the fake figure's ornament aura
Some excess plastic on the ornament aura
The fake figure's ornament aura and base support
Lastly, the bootleg’s ornament aura is also something worth noticing. At first, you might think that this part of the figure is alright. However, you might want to consider how pale the fake figure is in totality. Then, that’s when you’ll notice that the ornament is just as pale and dull.
There are also some few deformities on the aura that would definitely annoy an avid collector.
The real Figuarts ZERO Majin Buu Kid figure
The real Figuarts ZERO Majin Buu Kid figure
Fake VS Real of both figures
The real Figuarts ZERO Majin Buu Kid figure definitely satisfies the taste of Dragon Ball Z figure collectors. There’s balance within the colors and the texture of the figure looks solid from the pictures as well. Unlike the bootleg, the real figure has some notable details that are worth the praise. You won’t be able to spot those on the fake figure.
Of course, a quality figure has its own setback. As mentioned, the authentic figure was only sold for a limited time back in 2016 thus raising the market price of the figure. If you’ve been aware of this, surely you won’t be surprised.
PRICE
The gap between the prices of both figures is really huge. As for the real figure, you can tell that it’s an absolute collector’s item. Initially, the real Kid Buu figure was on sale for only $35 USD, but today, you’d find it on trusted toy websites for a whopping $100 USD or more.
You shouldn’t feel discouraged with authentic figures’ prices, however, since that’s how collecting works. This also happens with other authentic items.
WHERE TO GET REAL FIGUARTS ZERO MAJIN BUU KID FIGURE
The real Figuarts ZERO Majin Buu Kid figure was indeed released 3 years ago, but don’t fret as the figure’s still available on trusted websites like Ninoma and Plamoya.
Ninoma – The Japanese Market has a wide variety of figures on sale, especially those that are only sold in Japan. And if you’re a fan of Dragon Ball Z, you might want to check out their website.
You can find the real Kid Buu figure on Ninoma for roughly $104 USD.
If for some reason you’d want another option, you might want to check the figure out on Plamoya. The price of the Kid Buu figure on the website is a bit higher than in Ninoma, but of course, there might be particular perks you’re looking for in a website — shipping terms, for example.
Nevertheless, the real Figuarts ZERO Majin Buu Kid is still available and it’s safe to say that this figure is favored by many collectors. Reportedly, people bought multiples back when it was released since the figure was so promising. It really has potential, and it’s just a shame that bootleggers are ruining the image of a truly valuable piece.
OUR VERDICT
The fake Figuarts ZERO Majin Buu Kid figure shows its true colors by not having the proper design. True enough, it has copied the mold of the figure perfectly, but the details are just dull and full of inconsistencies. It also has a lot of scratches and stains. It’s easy to assume that it will never pass quality control that is why it remains as a bootleg deserving to thrown off a trash bin.
This fake figure just reached the lowest of the low which is why we’re giving it a 95% awful rating.
